Mr. George Lipscomb
Principal Consultant and Owner
Goldwing Services

Abstract

How has the U.S. Nuclear industry safely provided about 20% of our country’s power for nearly one-half a century? Part of the credit goes to effective quality assurance (QA) – the Nuclear Extra. With Sharon Harris nuclear plant operating approximately 20 miles from the city of Raleigh and an operating reactor at NC State University, we all have a vested interest in safe nuclear operations. In retrospect these QA principles have served the industry well, but can they be effectively applied to software during the complex transition from analog to digital?

This presentation will first broadly outline how the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) regulatory requirements are applied through industry standards, such as the American Society of Mechanical Engineers Nuclear Quality Assurance standard (ASME NQA-1). The 18 basic QA requirements will be presented and important concepts such as graded approach, safety-related, and commercial-grade dedication, will be defined. This segment answers the question: What is required in a Nuclear QA program?

The core of the presentation will focus on how the overall QA program drives critical software activities.  Major software QA control elements related to grading, acquisition, configuration management, and engineering are detailed.  Various categories (types) of software will be discussed and matched to ASME NQA-1 requirements. Nuclear plant design / operations and research and development perspectives will be contrasted. An example for design and analysis software (like CTF) will provide an illustration, but requirements for other types of software are broadly outlined.

Biography

George Lipscomb is a nuclear industry consultant and retired regulator that resides in the Triangle. He has over thirty years of quality assurance, research, engineering, and operational experience which spans the nuclear and aviation industries, and the military.  He is an ASME NQA-1 Lead Auditor and educator, developing QA training for software, cyber security, and digital systems, and is frequent conference presenter.

George’s career began in the military where he directed technical projects for the Naval Research Laboratory, created software for the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and is an IEEE-published author. Mr. Lipscomb is a retired navy and commercial aviation instructor pilot with 7000 hours experience.  He also is a former member of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission where he was a lead quality assurance inspector, expert witness, and new nuclear plant licensing technical reviewer.

He serves as a member of the ASME Subcommittee on Software Quality Assurance and has participated in IEEE, Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), and Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) software-specific working groups.  He received a BS electrical engineering from the US Naval Academy, MS electrical engineering from the University of Michigan, and MBA from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.

***This seminar will be streamed live on our NCStateNuclear YouTube channel***